''Kit Carson'' is one of the earliest Western films, being released by the
American Mutoscope and Biograph Company
The Biograph Company, also known as the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, was a motion picture company founded in 1895 and active until 1916. It was the first company in the United States devoted entirely to film production and exhibition ...
in October 1903. (According to silentera.com, portions may have been released the month before.
) Part of the footage was reused in ''
The Pioneers'', another Western short also released by Biograph in October 1903. Both films were shot on location in the
Adirondack Mountains
The Adirondack Mountains (; a-də-RÄN-dak) form a massif in northeastern New York with boundaries that correspond roughly to those of Adirondack Park. They cover about 5,000 square miles (13,000 km2). The mountains form a roughly circular ...
of New York.
Plot
Kit Carson
Christopher Houston Carson (December 24, 1809 – May 23, 1868) was an American frontiersman. He was a fur trapper, wilderness guide, Indian agent, and U.S. Army officer. He became a frontier legend in his own lifetime by biographies and n ...
and another trapper are attacked by Indians in the wilderness; Carson is taken prisoner and his companion killed. He escapes, but is recaptured and taken to his captors' village. There, a maiden takes pity on him and cuts his bonds, enabling him to escape again and return home to his loving family.
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References
External links
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*
Kit Carson
at silentera.com, with a detailed synopsis from "Biograph promotional materials"
{{Wallace McCutcheon Sr.
1903 films
1903 Western (genre) films
1903 short films
American black-and-white films
American silent short films
Biograph Company films
Films directed by Wallace McCutcheon Sr.
Films shot in New York (state)
Silent American Western (genre) films
1900s American films
1900s English-language films